The Road Not Taken
by Katsuko1978
Summary: There is always a choice, but sometimes the actions of others help in making the decision. AU, eventual Sideswipe/Starscream/Sunstreaker. Additional story information in my profile.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** Transformers © Hasbro  
**Summary:** There is always a choice, but sometimes the actions of others help in making the decision.

* * *

**The Road Not Taken**

**Prologue**

_I can feel where the journey ends  
Final call for a last defense – Kamelot, "The Black Halo"_

"I don't doubt his words, but the fact remains that we don't have the resources to send anyone out for rescue or recovery. It was merely good fortune that we were able to recover him from orbit before _they_ realized an explorer was returning."

"How is he now? He was in bad shape when the rescue team brought him in."

"Currently in stasis; he used most of his energy stores getting back to Cybertron. He only came out of it long enough to tell us what happened to his partner."

"This is a bad situation all around. The Decepticons are recruiting all the military builds, especially the flyers, and someone in his situation would be ripe for the picking if we don't go about things correctly."

"He would have landed in Kaon. Luckily Wheeljack's scrambler worked to knock out their sensors or we probably wouldn't have been able to get to him before those creeps found him."

"The Science Academy has already chosen to remain neutral for as long as possible; those amongst us who have already chosen Megatron's way have... seen fit to leave. They are, of course, unfortunate losses, but I for one still have hope that all this will be resolved in a timely manner."

"Until then, it's probably best to keep his existence a secret."

"You mean lie?"

"_Lie_ is such an ugly word. I prefer to think of it as a misinformation campaign. We'll need to report the loss of one of our senior explorers off-world; who's to say that the one we rescued didn't perish as well?"

"And then what? We can't just let him go out into the city once we report him deactivated!"

"Someone will have to act as both his mentor and a proxy whenever he needs something. I'm sure that once we inform him of how bad things have gotten while he and his partner were away, he'll understand that our measures are for his protection."

"It's a shame. He's not all that old and has already lost so much in his life."

"That's why we aren't about to let the Decepticons steal what's left from him."

"Then we're in agreement. All that remains is deciding who's going to break the news to Starscream once he awakens."


	2. Part One

**Disclaimer:** Transformers © Hasbro  
**Summary:** Through three sets of optics, the world looks very different. And yet... and yet.

* * *

**Part One**

_I never count on yesterday  
Because the past may not exist  
I'll never give myself away  
When there's reason to resist – Kamelot, "Snow"_

Not for the first time, Sideswipe found himself staring across the mess hall, optics locked on the sleek mech currently engrossed in conversation with Wheeljack. He doubted that he'd understand half of what they were talking about – unless it involved something that could explode and put the hurt on the 'cons, he usually tended to avoid conversations with the science mechs – but the red Lamborghini constantly found himself paying attention whenever Starscream walked into a room.

Sunstreaker kept telling him that it was just the novelty of having a seeker around that _wasn't_ trying to kill the lot of them, but Sideswipe wasn't entirely sure about that. True, Megatron's seekers had the exact same build as the resident Autobot seeker, but the only reason to pay any attention to those idiots was to make sure Skywarp wasn't pulling his teleportation trick or Thundercracker wasn't about to launch a sonic boom or Sunstorm wasn't going to attempt to fry their circuits with his radiation blasts. Even the Autobot science squad (as he'd taken to calling Jack, Screamer and Percy in his head) knew to keep an optic on those three, and they were always trying to come up with ways to counter the trine's advantages.

No, it was something else that caught his attention. It _was_ kind of cool having a seeker of their own, even though his null rays, the only weaponry he carried, were designed to be non-fatal; Starscream was more or less a pacifist in spite of stanchly supporting the Autobot stances on freedom as a right. That was probably why Sunstreaker didn't much care for the silvery-white and red mech, and Sunny's personality tended to alienate everyone so it wasn't a shock that Starscream tended to practice the art of avoidance.

In fact, Starscream maintained an emotional distance from just about everyone. The only 'bots he willingly sought out for companionship on a regular basis were Wheeljack and Ratchet, although he'd been seen talking with Perceptor on a few occasions. It was probably because they all four had a similar background, having each attended the Science Academy at some point, although Starscream was by far the youngest and the only one that had been kept a closely-guarded secret. Apparently at some point, the seeker and his mentor had left Cybertron on an exploratory mission to map other worlds. It had been the last mission that the Academy had funded, and their official report proclaimed the senior explorer lost on an ice planet with the junior explorer deactivating in emergency surgery upon his return to Cybertron.

That was obviously a fabrication, seeing as Sideswipe was sitting in the mess watching said junior explorer right now, but considering that it had happened just as the Decepticons were rising to power he could understand the subterfuge. Starscream would have been a tempting prize, and just from watching the way Wheeljack and Perceptor and even Ratchet interacted with the seeker made it clear that the scientific community of Cybertron was protective of their youngest member.

That was probably what attracted Sideswipe's attention so much: in a way, the seeker was forbidden fruit, as the human saying went. The fact that he was snarky and had a quick wit to go with it didn't deter the odd attraction.

It was the one thing he didn't share with his twin, although part of him wished Sunstreaker could understand.

* * *

The sound of voices in the repair bay made Sunstreaker stop in his tracks only a moment before he would have walked through the doors. In general he didn't care if he interrupted one of Ratchet's conversations with a patient, but when the other voice was the resident seeker his curiosity tended to get the better of him. Rather than continue on as he normally would, the yellow twin instead situated himself just off to one side and dialed up his audios a little more.

_"I don't like __**any**__ of your diagnostic results for the past thirty solar cycles!"_ Ratchet was insisting, and Sunstreaker could almost see the exasperated expression the medic was sure to be sporting.

_"And like I've been __**saying**__ for the past thirty solar cycles,"_ Starscream retorted, the faint whining tone to his voice pronounced in his annoyance, _"there is nothing that can be done about it."_

_"If you weren't so slagging stubborn about the whole thing you might not be slipping so badly."_

Sunstreaker frowned and glared at the closed doorway. He had never really been comfortable around the seeker, yet not for the reason Sideswipe probably thought. True, displaying pacifistic tendencies was a good way to get a mech deactivated in battle, but that wasn't the reason the yellow mech regarded Starscream as someone to avoid.

No, his reasoning for doing so tended more towards the fact that, for all intents and purposes, Starscream struck him as something of an _unbalanced_ individual. He wouldn't go quite so far as to deem the seeker insane, but it was clear to Sunstreaker that there was some vital element, something he couldn't quite put his finger on, that the other mech was lacking. And over the course of the war both on Cybertron and their time here on Earth, he could almost see Starscream deteriorating.

_"If it gets any worse then have me taken off the duty rosters,"_ the seeker was replying to Ratchet, sounding as if he were pacing about; Sunstreaker had noticed him doing that when presented with a problem to which there _was_ a solution but he had his doubts on the success rate. _"For the time being, though, the patches are holding and should keep me functional. When it does get to that point—"_

_"I still wish you would just __**tell**__ me why you're dismissing the idea without consideration!"_

_"Because it's too much of a risk for all parties involved. The Autobots can function with the loss of one scientist; I don't think it would be possible to do so with the loss two __**and**__ the chief medic as well."_

The footsteps were now headed straight for the door, and Sunstreaker pushed himself off the wall and partway down the hall before turning to act as if he were just arriving at the repair bay when the door slid open. Starscream strode out with his usual air of cool confidence, shooting a look towards the Lamborghini as they passed one another. Sunstreaker returned the neutral gaze with a mild glare before stepping into Ratchet's domain. His mind was barely on the flaw he'd noted in his shoulder joint after the most recent battle, but he pressed forward anyway.

The mystery that was Starscream had just gotten a lot more interesting, and Sunstreaker _was_ going to solve it one way or another.

* * *

He knew that Ratchet was right, just as much as he knew that the only solution to his problem could potentially lead to a whole slew of problems for the Autobots. Since the choice was his in the end, Starscream opted to do that which was best for the cause.

It wasn't what was best for him, but there wasn't any real option open to him. The only ones who had an inkling of what was going to happen – of what _was_ happening – were Wheeljack and Ratchet, and that was only because they had been the closest thing he had to actual friends since his return from that disastrous expedition that cost Skyfire his life; Wheeljack had been assigned as his proxy to the outside world as well as a mentor (even if there were times Starscream felt that _he_ was the elder of the two), and Ratchet had been his attending medic during the orns it had taken for him to fully recover from the energon depravation he'd suffered.

It hadn't been long at all before the effects of the missing trine bond began to present themselves, but in the early days they were mild, simple outbursts of temper that most of his colleagues had chalked up to stress and let slide. Ratchet, on the other hand, practically strapped him down to a berth in the repair bay and refused to let him leave until the seeker explained everything. Until that point, the medic had no way of knowing that seekers held some form of trine bond throughout the duration of their lives, starting from creation and continuing from there. A seeker's first trine consisted of his creators, with secondary trines being formed between siblings and relatives. Upon adulthood most seekers sought to form trines outside of their family group, eventually choosing a mate that would be part of their primary trine from then on.

Starscream had lost his creators shortly before being accepted into the Academy, and he had never really gotten along with his cousin well enough to consider forming a secondary trine bond with the mech. The mentor-pupil bond he'd shared with Skyfire had been enough to quell the need for a full trine due mostly to the older mech's stature, but when he'd been lost during the mission the seeker had been left with no connections to any other. That had been when Wheeljack first made the suggestion that Starscream try forming the trine bond with him and Ratchet, but the offer had been refused.

Yes, there were cases in the past – the distant past – were a seeker had formed a trine bond with two non-seekers, but in all those cases the non-seekers were still flight-capable mechs. The need to fly was too far ingrained into the seeker programming that to feel that two-thirds of oneself were permanently grounded could prove fatal. Starscream already knew that his emotional stability was slipping away, slowly but surely, and he wasn't certain _what_ he might be capable of if part of his processor constantly insisted that he couldn't take wing. He didn't wish to cause any harm to his two friends, so every time it was brought up afterward he dismissed the idea immediately.

He knew that he would go mad eventually, and when that happened he hoped that Ratchet would keep his word and give him a lethal dose of sedatives. Otherwise he was likely to approach his hated cousin Sunstorm and beg admittance to his trine; the chances were very high that the fragger would take the opportunity to obtain as much information on the Autobots' defenses as possible before ripping out his spark casing.

No, to deactivate in a drugged slumber and ensure that no harm come to his allies was a far kinder fate for him.

* * *

**Note:** That's the end of Part One. Part Two should be along soon, and hopefully I'll start working these three toward one another.

On a side note, please stop by my profile and fill out the poll for the sequel to "Checkmate." I'm planning to work on it in the not-too-distant future, but there's a bit of a problem I have to take care of before I start writing....


	3. Part Two

**Disclaimer:** Transformers © Hasbro; OC Windrunner and OC Cloudburst © me.  
**Summary:** As conditions worsen, someone is beginning to understand....

* * *

**Part Two**

_But when the lights are down  
There's no more to say  
Deep in the shadows  
Where the last of my delusions  
Make their stand – Kamelot, "When The Lights Are Down"_

Sunstreaker wasn't a medic, but he had spent so much time silently observing the seeker even before overhearing that conversation three months ago that he could begin to piece together some of the puzzle. It was as if Starscream retreated inside himself for hours at a time before one outburst or another, a pattern that the yellow Lamborghini had noticed over the vorns, one that had picked up speed in the past few months.

There had once been a time where an abrupt fit of anger or a prize-winning sulk would come around only once every quarter-vorn, if that often. However, since that repair bay conversation and Sunstreaker's more intent observation – still from a distance because he wasn't crazy enough to be obvious about it – Starscream had blown up twice over something and was currently avoiding even Ratchet, a sure sign that the third outburst in as many months was slowly brewing. To be quite honest, the last explosion of temper had been almost terrifying.

Thankfully, none of the Autobots had been the target of that rage. It had happened in battle, after nearly half a day of Starscream keeping to himself and only answering with brief replies when spoken to. The Decepticons had attacked a power plant just past the Canadian border and as per usual whenever possible they had gone out to stop them. Sunstreaker wasn't sure what, exactly, that teleporting moron had said, but whatever it was set off the most violent display of Starscream's temper to date. Usually the Autobot seeker only utilized his null rays as cover fire for his allies, but this time he'd shot Skywarp with them no less than five times when only one would have been enough to scramble his circuits before proceeding to physically tear into the 'con.

It had taken three Autobots to break up that fight; Ironhide had provided firepower to keep the other two 'con seekers from unloading their weapons into Starscream and the twins had to literally drag the 'bot seeker off of Skywarp. Once the silver-white seeker was contained – he had abruptly gone silent and calm once pulled away from the black jet – the other two swooped in to snatch up their wing mate and retreated long before Megatron even sounded the call to do so. Sunstreaker had caught a split-second glimpse of Skywarp as he and his brother dragged their teammate back, and he had the sudden sickening realization that a Starscream without his usual demi-pacifistic nature would be a terrifying opponent; the other seeker probably wouldn't be in a firefight for at least the next month, and that was only if the Constructicons made repairs on Skywarp their top priority.

That had been three weeks ago, and seeing Starscream acting in the manner he had only hours before _that_ display had Sunstreaker feeling ill at ease. And he wasn't the only one.

"What do you think is up with him?" Sideswipe asked quietly, his own blue optics locked on the subject of their concerns as the seeker quietly excused himself and left the mess hall without finishing the energon cube he'd been toying with. "It's not like Screamer at all."

"I'm not sure, Sides," the yellow twin replied, frowning thoughtfully. "I overheard him a few months ago arguing with Ratchet, something about his diagnostics. If it hadn't been going on for so long, I'd almost think it was a virus of some kind."

Sideswipe gave his brother a searching look. "What do you mean, _going on for so long?_ Screamer's _never_ tried to tear one of the Decepticreeps' wings off before. Slag it, he rarely even gets close to them in fights!"

Sunstreaker was shaking his head. "Not the fight," he replied. "These fits of temper or sulking. And before you say that Starscream's always been that way, think for a minute. How often did they happen before we wound up here? And how much more often have they been happening lately?"

The red Lamborghini glared mildly at his twin but searched through his memory banks as suggested. It was obvious that he had found the pattern to Starscream's sometimes-erratic behaviour when he let out a startled chirr and turned wide optics to Sunstreaker. "You're right, Sunny; it's always been there. But why is it getting more frequent?"

"I don't think it's something that's been there his whole life," Sunstreaker said, keeping his voice pitched low as he spotted Ratchet glancing their way, "but it's been there at least as long as he's been with the Autobots. Ratchet knows what's going on, maybe Wheeljack from what I overheard before. And I don't think it's going to improve on its own any time soon."

Sideswipe frowned, resting his chin on his hands for a moment before pushing himself up from the table. At Sunstreaker's confused and curious look, he grinned slightly. "The best way to try and find out is to go straight to the source himself. You coming, Sunny?"

The yellow twin could only stare as his brother strode purposefully out of the mess hall. "My brother is a suicidal moron," he complained aloud to himself before standing to rush after him. _And I'm just as much of one for going after him!_

* * *

Starscream was doing his best to ignore the miniscule trembling that was slowly working its way through his frame, but each time he reached for a tool he was reminded by the slight shakiness of his hands. After trying – and failing – for the third time to pick up some delicate wiring for the disrupter he had been working on, the seeker shoved the entire pile away from him and leaned on his workbench.

His emotional control was fraying far more quickly than he had realized. He had stopped going to see Ratchet on a biweekly basis, dropping his diagnostic reviews to twice each month. Shortly after the last of his weekly visits to the repair bay, Starscream had managed to go about three days before he found himself snarling at Wheeljack over a misplaced spool of copper wire. To his credit, the inventor had allowed his friend to finish his tirade and cool down for a few joors before approaching him again and continuing the conversation they'd been having before the outburst.

If it had remained limited to shouting matches and the occasional fit of angst, the seeker wouldn't be troubled. The last time his control slipped, however, he had been frightened of himself when he regained awareness of his surroundings.

If he hadn't been struggling for control that day, Skywarp's comment would have bounced right off his plating. As it was, Starscream had spent most of the day avoiding his allies just to keep his fragile grasp on his emotions from slipping, so the black seeker's words had cut him to the spark: _"It's easy to see why you're alone, Autobot; trineless __**and**__ spineless!"_

He could barely remember firing his null rays, but when he checked his energy reserves later he realized he'd fired them several times. He didn't even clearly recall beating the 'con; all he could remember was feeling a burning rage wash through his systems before targeting Skywarp, and then hands pulling him away from a twisted pile of metal that his cousin and Thundercracker had scooped up and flown off with, supporting it carefully between them. The only clear memory he had after Skywarp's comment – he still didn't remember actually attacking the other seeker, even as he washed the energon from his blue hands later – was of the Lamborghinis yanking him back.

Starscream shook himself out of the incomplete memories, pushing away from the workbench and heading towards the energon dispenser that Wheeljack and Perceptor had smuggled into his lab. His fellow scientists tended to worry about him, treating him at times like he was some wayward youngling who couldn't be trusted to tend to his own needs. Given the rate of his deterioration now, however, their concern was understandable. And although he had only left the mess hall thirty minutes ago, he had neglected to refuel properly and his systems were demanding that he do so now.

The seeker stopped walking abruptly as, in his slightly distracted state, the tenuous hold over his emotional state failed. His optics flickered and he forced himself to sit down where he was before he could collapse. Rather than rage this time, an unparalleled sense of despair overwhelmed his systems. The hateful words of the Decepticon seeker, his cousin's trine mate, surfaced in his processor again and only served to worsen the feeling.

"No," Starscream whispered, his senses confused. "Not trineless. Just... can't contact them. Something's blocking me out. Just need to keep trying."

It was ten minutes later that the twins walked into the lab, Sideswipe uncaring that he could be interrupting something and Sunstreaker berating his brother for fifty kinds of a fool. They both stopped in their tracks at the sight of the resident seeker seated on the floor. It took them an astrosecond to realize what had likely happened, and Sunstreaker moved to crouch next to the slightly younger mech.

"Starscream," he said, tone not too sharp but holding enough harshness to get the seeker's attention. When confused blue optics turned to him he vented air sharply. Behind the confusion he could see a deep sense of loss and knew that this time they needn't worry that Starscream was going to start attempting to rip other mechs in half.

"Have you seen Windrunner?"

"Who?" Sideswipe asked, not recognizing the name as one he'd heard before.

Starscream glanced at the red Lamborghini, confusion still apparent although the despair was beginning to surface. "My mother-creator. I can't feel her."

"I don't think she's here, Starscream," Sunstreaker said, getting a very bad feeling about this particular lapse.

"What about Cloudburst?" the seeker asked, expression slowly shuttering. "I can't feel him either. Where are they? Where's Skyfire?"

_That_ was a name both the twins recognized, one that had been released in the same reports that proclaimed Starscream's deactivated status. They exchanged a troubled look as the seeker's optics shuttered for a moment before opening again, although much dimmer than before.

"Ice," Starscream was mumbling to himself, as if he'd forgotten the Lamborghinis were even in the room with him. "Ice and cold, lost far from home. Skyfire's offlined, I know that. How did I forget that? But... he was _after_ my creators. They were on Cybertron. This isn't home. Where...?"

That was enough for Sunstreaker. The yellow twin stood up, reached down, and pulled the confused seeker to his feet as well. "Come on, Starscream," he said calmly. "Let's go see Ratchet."

For a moment Sideswipe worried that the other mech wouldn't know who Sunstreaker was talking about. "Ratchet. I know Ratchet. He was there after the ice."

"Let's go see him," Sunstreaker repeated, wrapping an arm around Starscream's waist to support him even as he turned to lock optics with his twin. _::Go get Ratchet and make sure he's in the repair bay,::_ he said through the twin bond they shared. _::Tell him I'm bringing Screamer now.::_

Sideswipe nodded sharply, sending a wave of understanding back to his brother before rushing down the corridor. The yellow mech watched him go before turning his full attention back to Starscream. He had a horrible feeling that he knew exactly what was wrong with their seeker, and if he was right....

He shook his head sharply and managed to force a faint smile as he looked back at despairing blue optics. "Come on," he said softly. "Ratchet can help."

* * *

The last thing Ratchet would have expected that day was for Sideswipe to dart into the mess hall no more than half an hour after he'd left with such a distraught expression on his faceplate. Absently worried that Sunstreaker had somehow managed to get himself in trouble even during that short amount of time, the medic stood and made his way towards the red twin.

Only a little of the tension bled out of Sideswipe's frame when he caught sight of Ratchet. "Sunny sent me. You need to get to the repair bay now." He lowered his voice a few octaves before adding, "It's Screamer."

That was all that the medic needed to hear. He brushed past Sideswipe and hurried down the corridor, noting that the red mech was following without being prompted. Unless he missed his guess, Starscream had slipped again and the twins had stumbled upon him during his fit. Part of Ratchet was wondering if he'd walk into his repair bay to find a pair of scrapped mechs; no one had yet forgotten the incident involving Skywarp and more than a few Autobots had been walking on eggshells around Starscream since then, but he seriously doubted that Sunstreaker wouldn't make every effort to defend himself even against an ally.

"Sunny's fine," Sideswipe said from behind the medic as they passed through the repair bay doors. "Screamer, not so much. We found him in his lab." If he had been planning to try and describe exactly the condition the seeker had been in, it was made moot by Sunstreaker's arrival with the other mech.

Ratchet took one look and swore mentally, heading for his supply cabinet to get one of the stronger sedatives. The last time Starscream's emotional state had swung towards despair, the seeker had spent several hours curled up in a corner of his room before Wheeljack had gone looking for him after he'd failed to appear at the monthly logistics meeting. The only real option had been to sedate him and let him sleep it off, and when he'd awakened the next morning he had only the vaguest memory of the previous day.

The medic kept one audio on the twins and his friend as he prepped a needle, although he nearly dropped it when he realized that Sunstreaker – not a mech known for his compassion towards others unless your definition of _'compassion'_ was synonymous with _'keep out of my way and I won't have to slag you'_ – was speaking to the seeker in what could only be described as a comforting tone to try and calm him. What was even more surprising was that it actually seemed to be working.

When Ratchet turned to approach the berth that the yellow twin had lead Starscream to, he noted that Sideswipe was hovering uncertainly nearby as if the patient was his brother rather than the resident seeker. He opted to ignore the odd behaviour of the Lamborghinis for the moment and focused the bulk of his attention on Starscream.

"Okay, Starscream," he said, speaking in a soothing tone, "I'm just going to give you something to help you recharge. You should be feeling better once you wake up."

For a moment the seeker looked uncertain, optics flicking slightly before glancing to first one twin then the other as if making sure they were both still there. "It won't help," he finally replied quietly as he turned his gaze back to Ratchet. "Just a temporary fix, but it'll do for now."

"I know," the medic murmured as he injected the sedative into one of Starscream's energon lines. It was one of the faster-acting ones he kept on-hand, and the seeker's optics were already starting to dim. Without needing to be told, Sunstreaker stood up from the edge of the berth and helped the other mech lie down before the sedative knocked him into full recharge. Once he was certain that the seeker was fully under, Ratchet turned a hard look to the twins and motioned for them to follow him.

Sunstreaker waited until the door was fully shut and the medic had turned to face them again before asking the question that had been circulating in his processor since they'd found Starscream in his lab: "He wouldn't be in this kind of shape right now if his creators were still online, would he?"

Although Sideswipe looked somewhat startled and confused by the query, Ratchet wasn't the least bit surprised. "No, he wouldn't. Maybe a little strained, but nothing like what we've been seeing."

The red twin vented a sigh. "Is this some kind of weird seeker thing? Because the Decepticon seekers might be a flock of morons but they aren't emotional whack jobs. Er, no offence meant to Screamer, of course."

Ratchet rubbed at one optic as Sunstreaker gave his brother a look that spoke volumes of how badly that came across. "It _is_ a 'seeker thing,' as you put it, and there's a means to deal with the problem if he would stop being to slagging _stubborn_ about it." As both Lamborghinis turned questioning optics his way, he sighed. "Sit down; this is going to take a little while."


	4. Part Three

**Disclaimer:** Transformers © Hasbro  
**Summary:** Plans are made, yet still need to be discussed....

* * *

**Part Three**

_Move slowly  
Beyond the colors of my eyes  
Move slowly  
Into the corners of my mind – Kamelot, "Center of the Universe"_

Sideswipe had long ago settled himself into a seated position on one of the spare berths close to where Starscream was recharging, legs folded and elbows resting on his knees as he simply watched over the seeker. Sunstreaker had left for their room not long after their conversation with Ratchet as he liked to process new information privately, and Ratchet had likewise left after giving the red twin strict orders to _not_ touch anything and to contact him immediately on the off chance that his patient came out of his drugged slumber sooner than expected.

The Lamborghini snickered briefly. Given how quickly the seeker had gone under, it would take an earthquake, the volcano erupting, _and_ a Decepticon attack to wake Screamer at this point. He shook his head slightly as he let his thoughts wander back to the conversation with Ratchet hours before he took up his post.

_The medic had barely finished explaining what little he knew about the importance of trines to a seeker when Sunstreaker was speaking again. "And why are you telling us any of this? Aside from our own curiosity, there's no reason for you to share it."_

_Ratchet snorted. "There are two reasons, the first of which needs to be prefaced with this: do you two think I'm blind or stupid? You've only been watching that mech as if _you're_ the scientist and he's a completely new species for vorns now," was directed to Sunstreaker. The medic's gaze turned to Sideswipe as he added, "And as for you, I'm surprised your optics don't have a pink cast over them. I think the only mech on base who _doesn't_ know you have a thing for Starscream is Starscream!"_

_Sunstreaker shot his twin a smirk and Sideswipe could almost feel his faceplate heating up. "I, uh, I don't think that counts as a valid reason..." he mumbled, rubbing at his helm while avoiding optic contact with either of the other mechs. Had he really been _that_ obvious?_

_The medic shook his head and continued, "The other reason, and the main one, is that in all the time I've known Starscream, there have only been two occasions that he came down from one of his attacks in a span of less than a full solar cycle. Both times there was one common denominator: you two."_

_Confusion was evident in both the twins' optics. "Aside from the fact that you pretty much just confirmed that all this has been going on for ages," Sunstreaker remarked with forced casualness, "that doesn't make any fragging sense."_

_"No, it doesn't," Ratchet agreed readily enough. "However, the fact still remains that Starscream dropped almost instantly out of a murderous rage when the pair of you dragged him off of Skywarp, and that he was approaching a state of lucidity in spite of being locked in a fit of depression by the time you brought him to my repair bay today. And that is something that has _never_ happened before now."_

_The Lamborghinis stared at the medic in surprise, silently whispering to one another over their bond as they debated on just _why_ this was significant. Finally Sideswipe spoke. "What do you think is the reason, Ratchet?"_

The red twin vented another sigh and flopped back on the berth, shifting around so that he could still see Starscream. He was still trying to process Ratchet's theory that the seeker's emotional programming center was apparently locking onto him and Sunstreaker as candidates for a trine bond. Neither he nor his twin were exactly flyer-builds, which was the medic's assumption as to why, exactly, 'the stubborn slagger' had continuously rejected earlier offers to attempt the bond amongst the science crew.

Sideswipe shook his head slightly. "You," he addressed the prone figure on the opposite berth, "have got to be the most contrary mech ever created. And I'm including Sunny on that list."

In spite of his words, he was still worried. Ratchet had been right on one thing; Sideswipe _had_ been watching Starscream for a long time. And he could admit to himself, now that he'd had time to piece everything together, that the signs of a problem had been there all along. He had simply been writing it all off as the extreme side of the seeker's personality even as Sunstreaker, in his usual _'us against the world'_ mindset, was recording it all as a reason to avoid Screamer.

The Lamborghini shook his head again and shuttered his optics. He could talk to Sunny later; right now he just wanted to recharge for a little while before the inevitable argument with his stubborn twin brother.

He was going to help his seeker, no matter what Sunstreaker said.

* * *

Sunstreaker was grateful in a way that his brother had opted to stick around the repair bay rather than come back to their room; it gave him both the time and the distance he needed in order to fully process everything that Ratchet had told them, including that insane theory of his. Although, in some way, said theory made a bit of sense to the yellow mech.

_"I'm no seeker, so I can't say exactly," Ratchet had mused aloud after Sideswipe's question. "But if I had to venture a guess, I'd say that Starscream's programming had been tracking candidates."_

_"Candidates for what?" Sunstreaker asked, optics narrowing slightly even as he glanced over at his twin. Sideswipe shrugged minutely back before returning his gaze to the medic._

_"Again, I'm only guessing, but I would say potential trine mates."_

_The twins exchanged another confused look, although Sideswipe was looking thoughtful. "You said earlier that seekers spend their entire lives in trines. How does that work? I mean, Sunny and I shared the same spark, so that's where our bond comes from."_

_Ratchet nodded. "From what Starscream told me vorns ago, a seeker's first trine consists of himself and his creators; their sparks already share the familial bond and the trine bond forms through that. Secondary trine bonds come about from sharing a small amount of spark energy, in the same manner that brotherhood bonds are formed in mechs that don't share creators."_

_"So there's an element of trust required," Sunstreaker mused. It certainly sounded that way to him, and it was somewhat surprising to realize that Starscream – a mech known for always having something biting to say about his Decepticon cousin and for preferring his own company – held the twins in high enough regard to consider them his trine even without the bond in place._

_"But we're groundrunners," Sideswipe pointed out with a frown. "Wouldn't that be considered a _bad_ thing to a flyer?"_

_"That's the main reason I think the stubborn slagger's turned down the offer every time I've made it," the medic growled. "However, it doesn't seem like his programming cares about that at this point."_

_Sideswipe actually looked like he was seriously giving the idea consideration. Sunstreaker wasn't too certain, though, and said as much: "I know that the decision is Screamer's, but he's not the only one who'll be affected by this. I don't know, Ratchet..."_

_"I'd suggest thinking over it before making a decision," the medic told them, shooting a stern look at Sideswipe. "_Both_ of you."_

Thus Sunstreaker's retreat to his and Sideswipe's quarters. It was a lot of information to process, and it was a decision that he couldn't take lightly. The Lamborghini had no doubt that his twin was willing to form the trine bond – to be quite honest, Sideswipe was likely to try and talk the seeker into upgrading it to a full sparkbond – but he was still uncertain.

_I hate being the responsible one sometimes,_ he grumbled mentally, slumping against the wall and rubbing at his optics. One part of him was screaming that it was a very bad idea to form any sort of a bond with an emotionally needy flyer, while a different part was already reaching out to Starscream; that was the part that had prompted him earlier to comfort the confused seeker.

And yet another part of him was nearly as infatuated with Starscream as Sideswipe was, a part that he had kept carefully hidden away.

"Slag it all to the pit," he complained aloud as he shoved himself up from the berth he'd been seated on, heading for the door and turning back towards the repair bay.

The only one left to convince would be Starscream whenever he woke up, and Sunstreaker wasn't about to leave that task to Sideswipe alone.

* * *

It had long ago become a habit to do a full system scan whenever he came out of a recharge cycle, and Starscream wasn't surprised to find lingering traces of a sedative in his lines as he began to slowly awaken. From what he could recall clearly, his control had slipped abruptly and thrown him into a depressive state. While it was better than another rage attack, the fact that only a few weeks had gone by between bouts was troubling.

His next few memory files were a bit fuzzy, but he could clearly recall being in the repair bay and telling Ratchet that the sedatives were only a temporary solution. Why could he...?

_Oh._ Well, that was interesting, in that _why the pit is my programming rebelling against me_ kind of way.

Starscream unshuttered his optics, blinking them slowly as he noted that he was still in the repair bay. He didn't catch any of the usual sounds of Ratchet moving about, which meant either it was still too early for the medic to be in his domain or he had stepped out for a moment. In spite of this, his internal scanners were insisting that there was someone else in the room with him, and a tiny portion of his programming that he had been convinced long ago would be the deactivation of him was trying to make contact with those someones.

The seeker pushed himself up from the berth, fully intending to ignore the twins but remaining hyper-aware of their presence – and of the silent argument they were apparently engaged in. With any luck, they might be so caught up in said argument that he could slip out of the repair bay without them noticing him; he could also use this opportunity to find out exactly how much Ratchet had told them and see if he could talk Wheeljack into testing that sonic disrupter they were still tinkering with on the medic.

_Hmm, no,_ he decided. _Jack would never test something on his bondmate._

"And just where do you think _you're_ going?" Sunstreaker's voice cut into his thoughts, killing any plans of slipping away unnoticed.

Starscream remained seated on the berth even as he turned to face the twins. The yellow mech had his arms crossed over his chestplate, scowling slightly in disapproval at the seeker's actions; Sideswipe was sitting on a nearby berth and kicking one leg a bit even as he too frowned. Apparently they'd finished their argument, or they had decided to finish it later. Either way, it was obvious that Starscream was going nowhere without them knowing.

"My guess would be, _anywhere but the repair bay_," the seeker finally responded after a moment, "but preferably my lab. You know, where you _aren't_ supposed to be?"

"Yep, he's feeling like his usual cheery self again," Sideswipe noted, hopping up off the berth and walking over to stand next to his twin. It was a calculated move, blocking in the seeker in the event he tried to leave before they were finished this discussion.

"Your concern is touching," Starscream remarked dryly. That one section of his programming was still attempting to reach for the twins, and he spared a moment's attention to trying to block off the signal that had no real outlet. When his attention returned to the Lamborghinis, he found them both watching him speculatively. "What?" he snapped, annoyance colouring his tone.

Sunstreaker narrowed his optics. "We need to talk," he said in a tone that brooked no argument.

"You can be as fragged off as you want," Sideswipe added, "but at least hear us out."

For a moment Starscream seriously considered telling them to go interface with themselves and leave anyway, but his emotional programming protocols were calm for the moment and he knew in the back of his processor that the reasons for that luxury were standing right in front of him. He cycled his vents in annoyance and slouched back on the berth slightly, crossing his arms in imitation of Sunstreaker's current stance.

"I'm listening."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yes, yes. I'm evil to leave it off there. I think there's going to be one more section and then an epilogue.

And before anyone asks, yes, I _am_ planning on things to get a little bit spicy for them before this is all finished. I've not yet decided if Sides'll get his way or not.


End file.
